NEWARK -- An East Orange man was acquitted today on charges of killing a rival drug dealer last year during a territorial dispute in Newark.

Samad Livingston, 38, was found not guilty by an Essex County jury of murder and weapons charges in the Jan. 16, 2014 fatal shooting of 35-year-old Charles Walker on the porch of a home at 870 South 20th St. in Newark. Livingston has claimed he arrived at the scene after Walker had been shot.

In handing down their verdict, jurors apparently did not accept the claims of the state's main witness, a drug addict who told police she saw Livingston point a gun in Walker's face, she walked down the street, heard a gun shot and turned around to see Livingston fleeing the scene in a vehicle.

Livingston's attorney, John McMahon, argued during the trial that the evidence shows the woman's story is false.

For example, the woman has said she believes Livingston was standing at the bottom of the front steps when he fired the weapon at Walker on the porch and then fled the scene, but the trajectory of the bullet suggests Walker was shot from behind, according to McMahon.

The woman alone is "not enough to reach that weight of proof beyond a reasonable doubt," McMahon said last week in his opening statement.

Pointing to her videotaped statement to police, Plant said the woman appeared coherent and "there's no evidence that she's high" in the video. The video shows a detective did not coach the woman, Plant said.

"She told what she saw on that particular night," Plant said on Monday in his closing statement.

During the trial, Plant claimed Livingston killed Walker, because the two men had an agreement in which Livingston sold drugs after 2 a.m. and he became angry when Walker made a sale on South 20th Street after 2 a.m. that day.

McMahon acknowledged during the trial that Livingston was working as a drug dealer, but he argued the two men were friends and that Walker was killed before Livingston arrived at the scene.

In his statement to police, Livingston allegedly indicated he prayed in his driveway before driving to the crime scene and learning that Walker had been shot.

Before the jury began its deliberations today, Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler told jurors Plant was incorrect when he claimed during his closing statement that Livingston spoke with police about how he was "praying to Allah."

Wigler told the jury that Livingston told police he prayed on the night of the incident, but Livingston "never indicated to whom he prayed."

The judge said that while the title "Allah" is commonly associated with the Islamic faith, Plant did not mean to suggest Livingston was Muslim. Plant and McMahon acknowledged on Tuesday that Livingston is a Christian, Wigler said.

"Allah is a title for God in many religions," Wigler said.

But the judge also said Livingston's religious beliefs are "not relevant," and instructed jurors to not consider them in their deliberations.

"A person's religion, religious denomination and religious beliefs play no role in our courts," Wigler said. "Freedom of religion is a constitutional right and all religious beliefs should be tolerated and respected."